商务英语函电语言特点及其在国际贸易中的应用

1、外贸英语函电的语言特点及其在国际贸易中的应用Linguistic feature of correspondence for foreign trade and its application in international trade摘要: 文章主要分为两个部分论述，第一部分主要解释外贸英语函电的意义并举例说明它的其语言特点，突出其是一种具有极强特殊性及实用性的行业英语的性质，接着阐述外贸英语函电的重要性，指出外贸英语函电已经成为在对外贸易中不可或缺的重要组成部分；第二部分阐述外贸英函电在国际贸易中的应用，指明它是成本最低、最常见、也最有效的通讯手段之一，主要从4个方面展开讨论，分别是可以

2、搭建新的贸易关系、可以快速高效传递信息和数据、可以作为责任划分的依据、可以维持贸易双方良好的合作关系。最后还提倡应选择性地使用外贸英语函电。Abstract:This article is mainly divided into two part for discussion,the first part is talking about the meaning of foreign trade correspondence and its linguistic feature by examples in which a characteristic of professional Engl

3、ish with its extremely strong specialty and practicality will be stood out.This will be followed by a description of importance of foreign trade correspondence and point out it has become a indispensable component in international trade; The second part only puts emphasis on the foreign trade corres

4、pondences application in international trade.it is one of the most common ,the most effect and the most shortest cost means of communication.There are 4 points supporting the second part :building new trade relationship;sending or receiving information and documents in the fast and efficient way;bec

5、oming an evidence to split responsibility;maintaining a better relationship between two parties.in the last ,the author suggests selectively using foreign trade correspondence .关键词：外贸英语函电；国际贸易；电子邮件 Key words:foreign trade correspondence;international trade;E-mail前言introduction随着全球经济一体化和高新技术的迅猛发展，世界经

6、济体系的日益完善，中国对外贸易的活动也越来越频繁。现如今，各国进出口企业除了通过见面或打电话，工作越来越多地通过外贸信函来完成。这就要求我们掌握外贸英语函电的特点和写作技能，充分发挥他们在国际商务活动中的效用。另一方面，外贸英语函电特别是电子邮件以其价格低廉、使用方便、传递及时、功能多样等优势使得国际贸易的开展更加多元化、高效化、自由化。不仅如此，正确地使用外贸英语函电还可以提升可信度、增进贸易关系、影响他人，进而为企业赢得更多的贸易机会，实现自身的价值。为了适应新形势的发展和用人单位对从业人员的要求，我们不仅要懂得外贸英语函电的语言特点，更重要的是要准确熟练地加以运用。In the back

7、ground of economic globalization ，the rapid development of high technology and increasingly improvement of world economic system,Chinas foreign trade activities are more frequent than ever.Today, a trend of using correspondence is more popular in global importing or exporting enterprises other than

8、meeting or calling.Therefore we are requested to grasp the characteristic and writing skill of foreign trade correspondence to gain the full benefits of using them in the international trade.In the other hand,foreign trade correspondence,especially Email,have their advantages of low-cost,convenience

9、,timely transmitting and multifunction which made the establishment of foreign trade more multi plural efficient and free.Moreover,correctly using of correspondence can catch more trade opportunity and realize oneself value through its effects of upgrading credibility,promoting business relationship

10、 and influencing surroundings.It has to be clear the importance of accurately using correspondence as well as understanding its feature,that is exactly the request of employers under the new international business environment.外贸英语函电的语言特点Linguistic features of foreign trade correspondence1.1外贸函电过去指的是

11、国际贸易中往来的商业书信和电报、电传。随着科技的发展，特别是互联网技术的长足发展，电报已经成为历史，电传也已经很难寻觅踪迹。替而代之的是今天的传真和电子邮件外贸函电。所以今天的的外贸英语函电是指在商务环境下不同文化背景的贸易双方通过信函、传真和电子邮件进行书面交流的行为。而函电中所使用的英语是一种带有浓重商务色彩的、应用性很强的行业英语。Foreign business correspondence was referred to commercial letters,telegram or telex which extensively used in the past internatio

12、nal trade.With the development of technology,especially in the considerable field of internet ,telegram have become the old history,telex are also barely used and subsequently fax and emails took their position today.So nowadays foreign trade correspondence can be seen as a tool of written communica

13、tion by lettes,faxes and emails that trade parties with the different cultural background adopted in the business environment.Whats more,foreign correspondence English is the professional English of deep business colour and applicability.1.2外贸英语函电作为商务英语的使用功能变体之一，不仅继承了商务英语所具有的一切特点，而且也因着其特殊的用途存在自身独有的语

14、言特点。Foreign business correspondence not only copies all of characteristic of business English but also exists its own language feature according to its special uses because of being one of applicable and functional variant of business English.1.2.1外贸函电实际上就是商务英语的写作。在撰写商务信函的时候，都应遵循“5C”原则，即意义明晰（clarity

15、）、用词简洁（conciseness）、礼貌周到（courtesy）、信息完整（completeness）、语言正确（correctness）。新编商务英语写作2宏观上来说任何一封出色的商务信函都会具备以上5个特点。举例说明如下：Foreign trade correspondence actually can be deemed as foreign business English writing.It is called “5C” rulesclarity，conciseness，courtesy，completeness and correctness that writing a f

16、oreign business letter should comply.Say from macroscopic that every excellent foreign business letter will have these 5 characteristic.For examples: A B Render Give Finalize Finish Demonstrate Show 意义明晰（clarity）撰写信函时，鉴于收信人的英文水平各不相同，为了避免造成收件人的误解，我们就要使用常见且通俗易懂的词语。上述B组的用词比A组用词更容易使读者理解。写信人使用清晰的表达和简单易懂的

17、词汇是使他人明白自己意思的明智做法。Claritywe need to use common and easy to understand words to avoid the recipients misunderstanding while creating a correspondence in view of each recipients English level are not identical.As the above-mentioned,group Bs words are more understandable than group As.So it is wise to

18、 use simple expression and oral words to be well understood by others. A B At this time Now Come to a decision Decide For the purpose For 用词简洁（conciseness）以上示例中B组的表达显然比A组的表达简短。通过这种简洁的交流方式可以直接减少写信人和收信人的时间和成本，所以在外贸函电中应尽量避免使用复杂难懂的商业术语。ConscisenessIt is not hard to find group Bs expression are apparentl

19、y more simple and shorter than group As.Adopting concise communication form could directly save time and cost of senders and receivers, Using complicated commercial terms will never become the first choice when writing a foreign trade correspondence. A B We can not deliver. I am afraid we can not de

20、liver.You ought to have accepted. It seems to us that you ought to . 礼貌周到（courtesy）外贸英语函电经常会有类似于B组的句式表达.在国际贸易中买卖双方难免会有产生分歧或者无法满足对方要求的情况，也或者是向对方提出某种意见，在这种情况下，如果使用A组句式会让对方感到被命令或者被强迫，而B组的句式相对婉转和礼貌，更能表达发件人的愿望，诚意或者是歉意。CourtesyIt always had been emerging of sentence expression like group B in foreign trad

21、e correspondence.Disagreement will occasionally come out between traders,or one party is unable to meet the requirement of the other party,or one will make suggestions to the other one which those scenes are not rare to see in the international trade. If,under these circumstances,using group Bs sent

22、ence pattern,it will make receivers feel being ordered or compelled.On the contrary,using mild and indirect sentence like group B can to a large extent convey senders hope,sincere or apology. 信息完整（completeness）主要体现在答复的内容上.在编辑函电时应尽可能一一回答发件人的所有问题及针对贸易中可能出现的各种状况给出提示等。 Completenessthis characteristic wi

23、ll be reflected in the containing of response.It has to,if possible, include every answer questioned by senders and give instructions about predictable situations or else while creating a foreign trade correspondence. A B This product is absolutely This product is the best one The best on the market

24、 we can offer 语言正确（correctness）外贸函电中语言正确不仅是指语法结构的正确，拼写及书写内容的正确,同时还应注意语言使用的是否得当，上述示例中B组的语句准确表达了卖方提供了最优质的产品给买方，而A组的表达稍显浮夸。B组的句子增加了卖方的可信度。 CorrectnessLinguistically correct in foreign trade correspondence not only refers to use grammar and structure rightly,but also optimum language using should be tak

25、en into considerable account. Compared with group As sentence with too much exaggeration,group Bs sentence precisely tell the seller have offered their goods with the most highest quality to their buyer.Obviously group B helped to add credibility of seller.1.2.2外贸英语函电的语言特点除了宏观上体现在”5C”原则之外，微观上还可划分为以下

26、几点。Linguistic feature of foreign trade correspondence also can be explained on microscopic level beyond the “5C rules” on macroscopic aspect.A、称呼语、结束语及句法表达的固定。Dear Mr Homes,How are you doing.Dear Miss Watson,Wish you a nice day.当我们看到以这种形式开头的称呼语时，大多数人都会不自觉地认为这是一封信函。无疑我们的感觉是正确的。为什么人们会有这种感觉呢？原因是我们都知道这是

27、英文信函的习惯表达。亦如，结束语中yours respectfully /yours sincerely/Kind Regards等，还有正文中的固定表达，如the attached pls find .,We look forward to receiving your reply soon,This is to confirm your E-mail dated.国际商务函电像这种表达在外贸英文函电中是屡见不鲜的，都是向对方表示尊重的习惯用法。鉴于外贸函电是公文性质的信函，一方面惯用句式是在长久的国际贸易交流中衍生出来的，另一方面使用惯用句式有利于读者更准确的理解句意。相反，在日常会话中一

28、般是不会使用到这些表达法的。Inertia of salutation,ending and sentence. “Dear Mr Homes,How are you doing.Dear Miss Watson,Wish you a nice day”Most of people will unconsciously feel what they are seeing is a letter when these sentences reflect in their eyes,and it is undoubtedly right.But why do people feel this wa

29、y?The answer is we all know those are “nail household” in correspondence such as “yours respectfully /yours sincerely/Kind Regards” in the ends and constant sentences as “the attached pls find .,We look forward to receiving your reply soon,This is to confirm your E-mail dated.国际商务函电” in the body.The

30、 above-mentioned fixed usages are vastly fooding in foreign trade correspondence and more important is by inertial usage of salutation,ending and sentence can fully express respect.Given that foreign trade correspondence is official letter,so the inertial usage have been formed in the long history o

31、f international businesscommunication,on the other hand,by using fixed sentence pattern can facilitate correctly understanding.However,we generally will not use these expression in daily conversation.B、外贸英文函电高频词汇的出现。函电的内容决定词汇出现频率的高低。外贸英文函电在具有极强专业性质的同时也揭露了自身语言使用的局限性。外贸函电是在商务背景下与客户沟通的，函电内容总是离不开询价，报盘，订

32、货，签约，包装，装运，保险等话题，因此与这些话题有关的词汇便经常出现在往来的函电中，并会一直成为双方交流的话题。而这也正是外贸英文函电与日常书信的不同之处。Emergence of high-frequent words in foreign trade correspondenceThe contents of correspondence decide the using frequency of vocabulary.It has to point out that foreign trade correspondence got its linguistic constrain of

33、language use as well as have strong nature of profession.Foreign trade correspondence usually communicates with customers under the background of business,as a result,correspondence content is always inseparable from the topic of inquiry,quotation,ordering,contract,pack,shipping,insurance, etc.There

34、fore words related to these topics usually will be usually used in the letters and be the topic between traderscommunication.That is exactly the difference from daily letters.C、缩写词的大量使用。高效、快捷、便利已经成为现代人追求的生活方式，在竞争激烈的商业场上表现更为明显。随着时代的变迁，国际贸易呈现出一片繁荣的景象。商业英语的语言也不停地随之消失与更新。就好像电子邮件中大量涌现的缩写词已经成为现代外贸英语的代表之一。

35、缩写词一般是由几个大写字母组成，也有大写字母与标点符号共同组成的情况。例如： A B ASAP as soon as possible PI proforma invoice O/C order confirmation C.C carbon copy P.S. postscript这些缩写词经常会出现在往来的电子邮件中，比起函电内容，似乎缩写词更能吸引收件人的眼球。缩写词的新颖与充满个性的形式不但减少撰写函电的时间，还能赢得读者的信任感，同时，也给电子邮件的内容增添了几分活力，也容易使收件人对你邮件中所发出的信息印象深刻。随着社会的进步与发展，人类对个性化的追求，相信更多的缩写词会相继出现。

36、作为一名专业的外贸从业人员，如果不懂缩写词的使用，又怎么跟得上时代的步伐呢？Plenty use of abbreviationsEfficient,fast,convenient have become a new life style pursued by modern people which have been surely and totally agreed in the fiercely competitive field of business.With these years past,international trade have presented a booming

37、signs.As a consequence of that,business English language formed a constantly circle of disappearance and update just as the abbreviations largely poured into Emails have become one of modern foreign business English representatives.Abbreviations are generally composed of several capital letters or s

38、ometimes composed of capitals and punctuation.Such as below: A B ASAP as soon as possible PI proforma invoice O/C order confirmation C.C carbon copy P.S. postscriptThese abbreviations are often used in Emails and it seems like the receivers eyes are very attracted by abbreviations comparing with the

39、 content.Abbreviation with its novelty and absolute personality not only can save time of making correspondence but also can gain more trust from receivers.Meanwhile,it adds Email some vitality and help leaveing a deep impression of information to others.With societys progress and development and in

40、 terms of human pursue to personality,more abbreviation will consequently come out.So here a question is how we can keep our pace with the Age as a foreign business professionals if we dont know the usage of abbreviation.尽管我们不具备100%出色的表达能力，但是通过对外贸英语函电特点的了解并结合实际情况是可以弥补表达能力上的不足。如今，撰写外贸函电是一种最常见的商务活动，它可

41、以帮助我们达到商业目的，也可以让我们知道函电作为交流工具的重要性。只有认真研究它的语言特点才能最大化的发挥它的作用。Even though we dont have 100 percent excellent ability of expression,it can be made up by understanding the feature of foreign trade correspondence and connecting with the practical situation.Nowadays,write the foreign trade correspondence is

42、 the most common business activity,it can help us to reach business goals and also can let us know the importance of using correspondence as a tool of communication.Only get to know the correspondences language nature can we maximize its effect.二、外贸英文函电在国际贸易中的应用Foreign trade correspondences applicat

43、ion in the international trade 2.1国际贸易不同于我国内部企业之间的合作，企业之间不可能总是面对面的进行交流，毕竟成本和时间是决定经济利润的最关键因素之一。而传统贸易通讯方式的繁琐，必然会阻碍各国之间贸易的发展及贸易全球化进程的速度。外贸英语函电的优势在于它克服了时间和空间的限制，简化了贸易活动中的繁杂程序，节约了交易成本费用，提高了交易的速度，保障了交易的安全进行，有效的避免了数据的丢失和毁坏。现代外贸英语函电的迅速发展，成为企业进入国际市场的有效手段，在节约贸易双方交易成本的同时，还可以达到宣传企业的目的。外贸英文函电也正是因着其自身的种种优势受到了国际社会

44、的普遍认可。International trade is different from the cooperation between domestic enterprises.Because it is not possible to communicate face to face for saving cost and time which is one of the most crucial factors of controlling economic profit between international traders。Furthermore,if using traditio

45、nal means of communication, it will inevitably block the commercial development between countries and the progress of economic globalization because of its complicated procedure.The advantages of foreign trade correspondence are eliminating the limit of time and space,simplifying the complex procedu

46、res in the international trade,saving cost,boosting the speed of transaction,ensuring the security of trading,avoiding the data loss and damage,etc. In view of the rapidly development of foreign trade correspondence, it has been used as an effective tool of entering into international market.Apart f

47、rom saving traderscost,it can achieving the aim of publicizing cooperates as well.Foreign trade correspondence was extensively recognised by international community because of its own advantages.A可以搭建新的贸易关系。Setting up new trade relations随着互联网等通信技术的快速发展，外贸函电已成为买卖双方建立对外贸易关系和外贸往来的重要手段。国内企业与国外客户建立贸易关系一般

48、都是通过网络搜索；请国外银行介绍客户；请国内贸易促进机构或商会介绍关系如贸促会；通过国内外展会交易建立关系；请我驻外使馆商务处或外国驻华使馆介绍对象；利用国内外专业咨询公司介绍客户（外贸英语函电贾和平，黄梨，赵曙亚，经济科学出版社24页）等渠道外贸英语函电，而中介机构不会无偿永久地为买卖双方搭建贸易关系，因此在得知对方大概情况后，贸易方为了表达贸易意图就要寻找一个合适的方式与对方联系。函电以快捷，成本低的特点成为了贸易方的首选。可以说一封充满尊敬和谦虚及布局精良的外贸函电比电话更能够引起对方的注意。而且，函电是将要表达的内容撰写完整之后再发送给对方，所以一般不会出现遗漏要呈现的信息的情况，既不

49、会给收件人造成不便，也不会使发函人遭到被当场拒绝的尴尬。另外函电却可以做到24小时的全天候不间断的服务，对于任何客户在任何地方、任何时间的回复及问题都可以及时给出答复，更有利于推进双方贸易关系的建立。With the rapid development of telecommunication technology especially internet tech,Foreign trade correspondence have become the important means of building relations and handling deals between intern

50、ational traders.Domestic companies will usually find foreign customers by sources such as web searching system,asking help from foreign banks,asking assistance from domestic trade promotion agencies or Chamber of commerce such as CCPIT,attending exhibitions held by home or foreign countries,asking h

51、elp from our embassies commercial service or foreign embassies,paying domestic or foreign professional consulting companies,etc.However,these intermediary agencies will not offer their services permanently without fees.So traders,who want to build business connection with foreign companies,will have

52、 to find appropriate contacts after getting the information of foreign companies.Most of tradersfirst choice will be correspondence because it is fast and economic.Maybe we can say a correspondence with full respect or humility and well-constructed layout could be more probable to attract the attent

53、ion of the others.At the same time,a correspondence is usually fully prepared and sent to receivers,so there is generally no situations of omitting information to be presented or no inconvenience to receivers or no embarrassing for being quickly rejected either.In addition,Correspondence could provi

54、de live information 24 hours a day,which is possible to timely reply to customers anywhere or any time, for promoting new trade relationsestablishment.B可以快速高效传递信息和数据。Fast and efficiently transmit information and data国内贸易与国际贸易的主要区别之一便是单据的使用。发出的每一票货都必须有正确的单据，如合同、商业发票、装箱单、提单、保险单、产地证等。如果单据不正确，进口商将在提货的时候

55、遇到困难，就算是微小的差距也可能导致银行拒绝付款，根据商品性质及各国具体规定不同，不同的交易需要不同的单据。为了不影响贸易伙伴之间今后的贸易关系，单据的及时传递尤为重要。国际商务英语184与邮递、电报等传递方式相比，电子邮件不仅破除了时空的壁垒，又节约了通讯成本，最重要的是只需要短短几分钟就可将数据传给对方。即使是传递信息有误，也可以做到及时的纠正，将损失减到最低。现如今，电子邮件在国际贸易双方之间、跨国公司与子公司之间、政府机构与公司之间、企业员工之间已经成了交换信息数据的最普遍的、具有最高效能的媒介。21世纪人类已经进入了大数据时代，全球经济一体化的加快使得国际贸易的竞争愈演愈烈，对市场信

56、息实时的掌控握成了企业发展的致命因素。如果说外贸函电是因为迎合了局势的发展才被世界所认可，反之，它也成了全球经济快速发展的推动力。One of the main distinction between domestic trade and international trade is the use of documents.Each shipment dispatched should be equipped with correct documents such as contract,commercial invoice,packing list,bill of lading,insurance policy,certificate of origin,etc.If without right documents,importers may have difficulties in taking delivery of the goods,even slightly difference could cause bank to refuse to pay.Also,due to the differences existed in p